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Higgins back in dock over world championship incident : SNOOKER

Monday 19 December 1994 00:02 GMT
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Alex Higgins will find himself in familiar territory tomorrow afternoon when he faces a disciplinary hearing at the Bristol headquarters of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

The controversial Irishman's latest appearance in front of the sport's governing body concerns an alleged backstage incident at the Embassy World Championship in April following his 10-6 first-round defeat by Ken Doherty.

Higgins, 45, has by far the worst disciplinary record of anyone in the game.

The 1972 and 1982 world champion has fallen foul of the snooker authorities on 13 previous occasions during his 23-year career and has been fined a total of £23,200.

In 1990 Higgins was found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute and was suspended for the entire 1990-91 season. Higgins also had all of his ranking points docked and consequently made his comeback in August 1991 stationed at a career-low 120th in the world.

He was handed his heaviest punishment in 1993 for a series of offences including threatening to have his Northern Ireland team-mate Dennis Taylor shot after a confrontation during the World Cup.

Stephen Hendry picked up his 50th major title following a brilliant 9-3 victory over John Parrott in the final of the European Open in Antwerp on Saturday.

It was also Hendry's 21st ranking event title in his nine years as a professional.

Hendry's highest break, a 136, came in the fifth frame. But there were also two more centuries, a 100 and 101 which took Hendry's count this season to 23.

"I finished the year on a high and I'm looking forward now to 1995," he said. "If I continue to play like this, I don't believe anyone will beat me."

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